University of Memphis senior D.J. Stephens jumped toward the rim after the Tigers' 86-71 victory over UAB at FedExForum on Saturday and kissed it goodbye.

In his final home game as a Tiger on Senior Day, it seemed a fitting gesture for a player who has manhandled the FedExForum rims over a standout four-year career with his violent, highflying dunks.

"It was everything I hoped it would be and more," said Stephens, whose No. 25-ranked Tigers needed his heroics again in the second half after UAB had sliced a 15-point halftime deficit to one. "I actually got like five standing ovations. It just shows the love and support that this city has for its players. For me to be one of those guys that everybody loves and respects, it just means a lot to me."

As did the win, which capped a 16-0 run for Memphis (27-4) through Conference USA play. Most teams slip up here or there. This one didn't, becoming just the fifth team in C-USA's 18 seasons to go undefeated in league play.

"It's tough. Every night you've got to find a way to pull it out," said junior guard Joe Jackson, who turned in a C-USA Player of the Year-type performance Saturday with 17 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and one block in 38 minutes. "It's some good teams in this league and if you're not bringing it, they'll beat you.

"We just did a great job playing in the conference, being able to win every game. Even the ugly games, we had to pull them out."

Like it has all season in this league, Memphis absorbed UAB's best shot, then answered with a flurry of punches in knocking its opponent to the mat.

When UAB (15-16, 7-9) opened the second half with a 16-2 run that cut a 43-28 halftime deficit to 45-44, Stephens came to the rescue, making a 3-point play that pushed the Tigers' lead back to four. Jackson followed with a 3-pointer before Stephens came through again with a putback slam of a Jackson miss that made it 53-45.

It all became part of a 15-3 Tigers run that included buckets from four different players and put UAB back on its heels.

Stephens finished with 13 points and eight rebounds before being pulled with 1:44 left by coach Josh Pastner so he could receive one last standing ovation from the home crowd of 18,289.

"I was thinking a little bit like, ‘Man, this is really the last time I'll actually be able to walk off the floor with the Memphis (Tigers) logo on the court,' " Stephens said. "Hopefully for me, it's not the last time I get to play in the FedExForum. I was just really sad. It didn't really hit me until I walked off the court."

Junior guard Chris Crawford continued his red-hot outside shooting, going 5 of 10 from 3-point range in a season- and game-high 20 point performance, and junior guard Geron Johnson added 19 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Although the Tigers held UAB to nine offensive rebounds and just six second-chance points, the win wasn't perfect. Memphis committed 18 turnovers, which the Blazers turned into 26 points, and didn't get much production from its forwards, Adonis Thomas (seven points, zero rebounds), freshman Shaq Goodwin (four points, three rebounds) and junior Tarik Black (six points, six rebounds).

If Memphis is going to make a deep run into March, it can't rely so heavily on its guards — and Stephens — to do all the heavy lifting.

"We need more consistent effort from our bigs. That's important," Pastner said. "Earlier in the year and mid part of the year, our most consistent players were our frontcourt. Now our guards are becoming very consistent and now it's important our bigs get back to that and we can put it all together as we enter this stretch of postseason play."

As the game turned

Stephens' 3-point play in which he made a layup with his back to the basket while being fouled at the 14:11 mark of the second half was the turning point for Memphis. It re-energized the crowd and sparked a 15-3 Tigers run that UAB couldn't recover from. The Tigers had begun the second half sloppy, committing five turnovers over the first five minutes to allow UAB, which was led by junior Jordan Swing's 19 points, back into the game.

Rim gems

Stephens' putback dunk of Jackson's missed layup during the Tigers' 15-3 second-half scoring run just about sums up his career at Memphis. Jackson had gotten a steal to start a fast break. Although it appeared Jackson would get an easy layup off the steal, he missed. Yet there was the always hustling Stephens, who had trailed the play and was there to clean up the mess, with a highlight-reel putback slam in which he caught the rebound by his hip before stuffing it in two-handed. It was quintessential Stephens.

Who's hot? Who's not?

Crawford is shooting lights-out from 3-point range over the last six games. He made 5 of 10 from deep Saturday and has gone a combined 21 of 41 (51.2 percent) from beyond the arc since Feb. 20. Johnson broke out of his recent offensive slump, going 8 of 14 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He'd gone 11 of 37 from the field over his last five games. Thomas, meanwhile, was nearly invisible, contributing seven points on 1-of-9 shooting and zero rebounds in 22 minutes. Memphis has to get him playing at the level he was in February, when Thomas scored in double figures in six of eight games and had six or more rebounds in four of them.

Locker room chatter

"Being able to do it for your seniors, you know? Doing it for D.J. He's been here for four years. Ferro (Ferrakohn Hall) two. Stan (Simpson) two. And Charles (Holt). Just going out there knowing that you want to win the game for those guys and finishing out a perfect season (in C-USA play)." — Crawford when asked the best part about going 16-0 in league play.

Odds and ends

Jackson was tantalizingly close to a triple-double and might have gotten it had Hall not been quicker getting to a rebound with 2:20 left. "I don't know. Y'all gotta decide on that one," Jackson said afterward when asked if Hall had robbed him. Asked if he felt he had put together a C-USA Player of the Year-type season, Jackson said, "I don't know. I want to get that award, but that's not going to make or break me." ... Saturday's win marked the fifth time in Memphis history it went undefeated through conference play. The Tigers went 8-0 in the Mississippi Valley Conference in 1928-29 and put together three straight undefeated seasons in C-USA from 2006 to 2009. ... Jackson's six steals were a career high. His 10 assists matched his career high. ... UAB coach Jerod Haase afterward on the Tigers: "Memphis right now has done a heck of a job recruiting, they've done a heck of a job coaching this team and it's just a different animal right now."

By the numbers

10: 3-pointers Saturday by Memphis, two off its season high.

11: Second-half turnovers for Memphis.

69.6: Tigers' free-throw shooting percentage Saturday. They had shot just 48 percent over their last three games.

Got next

Memphis rolls into next week's C-USA tournament in Tulsa, Okla., having won 23 straight games against league opponents. The No. 1-seeded Tigers have a first-round bye and will play at 6 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday's first-round matchup between No. 8 seed Tulane and No. 9 Marshall.